Homelessness is one of the worst things anyone can go through. For people accustomed to living with a roof over their head since childhood, the perils that a lack of a permanent shelter brings are unimaginable. Living without a home leaves people without access to a toilet, a shower, a bed, or a stable source of water - all of which are basic necessities of life. These things also prevent homeless people from getting a job and improving their situation since applying to job interviews and appearing in them also requires money.
This devastating problem is further compounded by the fact that estimating the number of homeless people in the world is also a difficult task as most countries do not have accurate statistics on the matter. This prevents the development of an effective global strategy to combat this menace; a situation quite different from, for instance, the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
Therefore statistics on homelessness are mostly available from non governmental organizations and charities. On this front, estimates from worldwide housing movement The Shift reveal that a stunning 150 million people are living without a permanent shelter over their heads as of today. This estimate is also matched by figures from the United Nations which paint a similar picture.
Homelessness leads to lower economic output and productivity which impacts a country's gross domestic product (GDP). At the same time, ending homelessness not only contributes to higher economic growth but also saves the taxpayer money. Data from the National Alliance to End Homelessness shows that the taxpayer can save as much as $35,578 if the homelessness problems is resolved since these are the direct taxpayer costs that result from homelessness. In fact, the alliance's data shows that just by placing homeless people in supportive shelters can reduce these costs by almost 50%.
Taking a look at the economic impacts, a White Paper from the Hot Potato Initiative tries to take a look at the impact of homelessness on the Canadian economy. It shares that homelessness might have cost the Canadian economy $4.5 billion in 2007. At the same time, it also outlines that not only are homeless people 70% more likely to visit a doctor, but they also face higher levels of incarceration. At the same time, Canada spent nearly $8 billion to tackle homelessness - or half of what it had spent in giving businesses subsidies. The higher proportion of homeless people requiring medical facilities is also mirrored by research conducted in the U.S.
Homelessness Problem in the US
In terms of spending, America spent more than $54 billion on different programs aimed at providing a better life for the homeless. Within this, Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) took the largest chunk of the spending, as more than $29 billion was spent to help people afford rent. The second largest portion was allocated to Project Based Rental Assistance (PGRA) which is a program that sets up affordable housing units for people. In short, the government directly provides homes to the homeless, and the costs of this stood at $14 billion during the fiscal year 2022.
Several programs have been tried in a variety of different countries to help homeless people and solve this problem. One such initiative took place in the United Kingdom where small box homes covering 25 square meters were built and provided to homeless people as a pilot project. This project was analyzed by the University of Cambridge, which concluded that the project was successful as it reduced drug use, alcoholism, and health problems in homeless people. At the same time, these simple shelters also improved financial outcomes for these people - enabling them to save more money and apply for and secure, reasonable jobs. On the topic of jobs, the report shared:
In our first round of conversations with the residents immediately after they moved into the modular units, we identified that there was generally no sense of urgency in terms of finding work. However, one year into their residency, evidence is emerging that residents are preparing to return to employment and are increasingly enthusiastic about doing so. Some residents are planning to return to the type of work they used to do and others are starting training to help them seek employment. Those who were in employment before the COVID-19 lockdowns were particularly eager to return to work. At the time of writing this report, one resident involved in newspaper retail had already gone back to selling the newspapers following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
With these details in mind, let's take a look at the cities with the highest rates of homelessness.
30 Cities With the Highest Homelessness Problem
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the world's top cities in terms of homelessness, we first cast a wide net to see which places are suffering from the homelessness problem the most. For this effort, we used four (1,2,3,4) sources. Then, since there is no universal database for global homelessness statistics, each city in this list of 35 cities was individually searched to determine the number of homeless people. Some statistics are from census data while others are from point in time surveys that determine the number of homeless people in a city in one night conducted by both government officials and NGOs. The final list of the cities with the highest homelessness is as follows.
30 Cities With the Highest Homelessness Problem
30. Lisbon, Portugal
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 3,780
Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal. It is also the largest city in the country, with more than half a million people living in its boundaries.
29. Denver, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 6,888
Denver is the capital city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It has a population of more than seven hundred thousand people and is an economic hub in its state.
28. Rome, Italy
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 7,709
Rome is the capital city of Italy and one of the largest cities in the world with a population of more than 2.8 million people.
27. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 7,865
Rio De Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. It also has the second largest economy in the country.
26. San Diego, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 8,427
San Diego is one of the most populous cities in America with a population of more than a million people
25. Dublin, Ireland
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 8,523
Dublin is the capital of Ireland and the largest city in terms of population. It is also a hub for global multinational firms.
24. Oakland, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 9,747
Oakland is a Californian city. It is one of the busiest port cities in America.
23. Budapest, Hungary
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 10,000
Budapest is the capital and largest city of Hungary with nearly a million residents.
22. San Jose, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 10,028
San Jose is an economic hub in the U.S. with a large presence of the technology industry.
21. Seattle, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 11,751
Seattle is a highly developed city in the U.S. state of Washington.
20. Tampa, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 16,000
Tampa is a coastal Floridian city with one of the biggest ports in its state.
19. Auckland, New Zealand
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 18,417
Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and has a population of 1.4 million people. It is an economic hub in its country and accounts for a large portion of New Zealand's economic output.
18. Athens, Greece
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 20,000
Athens is one of the most historical cities in the world and the capital of Greece.
17. Mexico City, Mexico
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 30,000
Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. It is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 9.2 million people.
16. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 31,884
Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil in terms of both its population and economic output.
15. Surat, India
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 36,144
Surat is a Western Indian city in the state of Gujrat. It is the second largest city in its state and a hub for the global diamond industry.
14. San Francisco, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 38,000
San Francisco is a cultural and economic hub and a city that is notorious for high housing costs.
13. Los Angeles, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 41,980
Los Angeles is the second largest city in America in terms of population. It is a cultural center place for its state and the U.S.
12. Delhi, India
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 46,724
Delhi has more than ten million residents and is one of the most historic cities in the world.
11. Damascus, Syria
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 50,000
Damascus is the capital of Syria and one of the oldest cities in the world as it has been inhabited for thousands of years.
10. Lagos, Nigeria
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 50,000
Lagos is one of the largest cities in the world with more than 24 million people living in the city.
9. Mumbai, India
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 57,415
Mumbai is India's financial hub, but it is also famous for generations of homeless who are born and die on the streets.
8. Washington, D.C., United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 57,416
Washington D.C. is one of the most expensive places to live in America - making it unsurprising that it also has a high number of homeless people.
7. Chicago, United States
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 65,611
Chicago is one of the largest cities in the U.S. in terms of population and one of the largest business hubs in the country.
6. Kolkata, India
Estimated Number of Homeless People: 68,798
Kolkata is one of India's largest cities. It has played a crucial role in the country's history due to its port.
